Improvement in protective electric telegraphs



UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE,

JOSEPH W. STOVER, OF BOSTON, AND MOSES G. CRANE, OF NEWTON, MASS.

IMPROVEMENT IN PROTECTIVE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS.

Specification forming part of Leiters Patent No. 121,971, dated December19, 1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOSEPH YV. STOVER, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk, and MOSES G. CRANE, of Newton, in the county oi' Middlesex, allin the State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements inProtective Telegraphs 5 and we do hereby declare that the following,taken in connection with the drawing which accompanies and forms part ofthis specitication, is adescription of my invention sutiicient to enablethose skilled in the art to practice it.

Our invention relates to the organization of a protective telegraphicalarm system, designed particularly for use in protecting banks andother depositories of money and valuables from the operations ot'burglars and for enabling alarms to be given from such buildings,through a system common to all, to a central or other policestation. Ourinvention consists, primarily, in a system of telegraph-wires runningfrom buildings to be protected to 011e or more police or other stations,and forming metallic circuits by being turnished with battery-power froma central point, each building having, in addition to its connectionwith the main circuit, a local battery or batteries for local circuitswithin the building, there being combined with such main and loca-lcircuits, and within each building to be protected, an automaticsignalbox containing clock-work actuated by a spring, and arranged toactuate a rotating electric-circuit breakin g-wheel (connected with themain circuit) to open and close the main circuit a definite number otltimes, dependent up4 on the location of the box, the clock-work beingalternately held and released by an electro-magnetic armature connectedwith the local circuit. The wires oi`- each local circuit extend aroundthe room or building' to be protected, in accordance with the exigenciesoi' each particular building, so that, for instance, the pressure ofthefoot upon certain parts of the tloor, the opening otl a window or door,the displacement ot' particular pieces ot' turniture, or other irregularor unauthorized movements or actions will break the circuit and set thealarm in motion, by releasing the armature of the automatic box, thealarm being silently but with certainty communicated through the maincircuit to the central. or police station, an electro or mechanicalgong-striker being at such station and being automatically struck inaccordance with the number of the box from which an alarm may be given.

The drawing represents at A the interior mechanism of a signal-box, andat B the connections oi' the wires vforming the main and local circuits.

a denotes the box, b, the magnet of the local circuit, c c, the wires,and c the battery thereof. j denotes the armature ot' the local-circuitmagnet. The circuit is kept, normally, closed and the armature drawn upto the magnet 5 but it' the circuit be in any way broken the releasedarmature will be drawn from the magnet by a spring, g. The magnet isconnected with a clockwork or gear and escapement-train, h, which isactuated by a wound spring, '17, wound up by an arbor, It, thismechanism carrying a rotary main-circuit breaking-and-closing insulatedwheel, Z, upon or in the metallic periphery of which are insulated spotsor breaks m. This wheel is connected with the main-circuit wires a byspring-iingers o, which bear upon the periphery, and as the wheel isrotated the main circuit is intermittently broken and closed inaccordance with the number of breaks in the wheel, which numberindicates the number ot' the box, each break of the main circuit causingthe gong at the central or police station to be once struck, and thenumber ot' breaks in the wheel indicating the number of breaks th atmust occur in the main circuit, (for whenever the local circuit isbroken the wheel Z makes a complete rotatioin) and the consequent andcorrespending number of blows that must be given to the gon Theretraction ofthe armature by the spring releases the clock-work, and therestoration oi'l Athe local circuit, by the removal of the cause whichbroke it, again causes the circuit to be closed, the magnet attractingthe armature and bringing a stop-pin, p, extending from thearmature-lever into a position to be struck by a pin, e, extending fromthe geanwheel y, when, in the course of rotation of said wheel, the twopins come together. When the local circuit is broken the movement ot'the armature-lever, effected by the spring g, carries the pin p belowthe pin z, and the released gear-train is then set in motion by thestress of the spring. The wires of the local circuit or circuits extendthrough the building or rooms to be protected, with connections withsuch doors, windows, iioors, or other parts to be guarded, in suchmanner that irregular or unauthorized entrance or movement ofthe guardedparts shall interrupt the connection and break the circuit. In thedaytime, or when it is unnecessary or inconvenient to have the localcircuit connect with the alarm mechanism, it or any part of it may becut out7 by means of a switch, q, by which the local current may beconfined to the immediate battery and magnet. The closed condition ofthe local circuit lmay always be known by the position of the armature.To know the condition-of the main circuit a test-magnet, r, may be used,with a gong, s, and an armaturelever, t, and test-switch u. When thetest-switch is thrown into connection with the test-circuit wires o aconnection will be formed between the magnetic coil w and themain-circuit wires, causing the magnet r to attract the armature-lever tand the hammer w to strike the gong or bell. A galvanometer may beplaced in the mainv circuit and within the building to be protected,such galvanometer indicating at all times the electrical condition ofthe line and the strength of the battery circuit. A thermometer orheat-regulated mechanism may be connected with the local circuit, sothat the development of a certain heat, or of heat to a certaintemperature, will Ibreak the circuit and give the alarm, thus insuringan alarm in case of fire.

In cutting out parts of the local circuit, for use of the portionsprotected by the cut-out, in business hours, such cut-outs arepreferably constructed and arranged to be operated only by authorizedpersons, by the use of peculiar keys held only by persons having theright to use them.

It will thus be seen that, by means ofa local circuit, (composed of thelocal wires, local magnet, and local battery) connection with eachbuilding and with a clock-work, and, through such clock-work and arotary main-circuit breakin g-and-closing wheel, with the main-circuitwires and an alarm-gong at a central or police station, an alarm may becommunicated from any building to a central station, such alarm beingeffected by the tampering` with any doors, windows, or other partsconnected with the local circuit, such local circuit remaining normallyclosed, and, by

being'broken, setting the alarm and main-circuit breaking-wh eel inmotion and signalizin g the center or police station. It will also beseen that, by a series of circuit breaking wheels having various orvariously arranged breaks, any number of buildings may be thus broughtinto this protective system. The alarm-box may be located at anyconvenient position in a banking-house or other building, and, by meansof a lever, j, the armature f may be thrown down from the magnet tobreak the main circuit, this being done by a teller or otherbank-officer or attendant within a protected building whenever, for anycause, he may desire to send an instantaneous message to the police orother stationfor an ofcer; as, for y instance, to eiiect the arrest ofthe presenter of a forged check which may be detected by a teller.

scribed.

A Morse register may be placed in the police or the center station toreceive and note the number of the boX from which any alarm is sent.

An electro-magnetic watch-clock may be used with this system, placed atthe center office, and so arranged as to record at regular intervalssignals to be sent by watchmen in buildings, the clock beinginaccessible to them, and indicating any remissness or insuring theirvigilance or recording their negligence.

We claim- 1. The combination of a local circuit, a clock mechanism, anda main circuit, the clock mechy anism beingthe means of communicationbetween the local circuit and the main circuit and having a rotarymain-circuit breakin g-and-closing wheel, which at each break of thelocal circuit is caused to intermittently break and close the maincircuit, and by such breaking and closing to effect an alarm at thecentral office, substantially as described.

2. A signal-box containing a local-circuit magnet, an armature effectingconnection and disconnection between such magnet and the gear or clocktrain, (the armature being normally closed against the magnet,) agear-train actuated by a spring or weight and set in motion by releaseof the armature, and a rotating' main-circuit breakin g-and-closingwheel actuated by the ge ar-train 3. In combination with the localcircuit normally closed, the main circuit and the gear-train andmain-circuit breaking-and-closing wheel, the cut-out switch or switches,substantially as shown and described.

4. In combination with the local and main circuits and connectingmechanism, arranged substantially as described, the test-circuit and thegong struck by the hammer projecting from the test magnet armaturelever, substantially as shown and described.

5. In combination with the local circuit, normally closed, and the maincircuit and gear-train, and the rota-ry main-circuitbreaking-and-closing wheel, the stop on the armature-lever and the stopson the gear-wheel y, so arranged that by the breaking of the localcircuit the gear-wheel is liberated and rotates, but at the end of onerotation is arrested, substantially as shown and described. I

6. The general construction and arrangement of the system, substantiallyas shown and de- JOS. W. STOVER. MOSES Gr. CRANE.

Witnesses FRANCIS GoULD, M. W. FROTHINGHAM. (50)

